Kale by its name in English, also known as kale, is a very versatile vegetable that will allow you to prepare them in different ways. From a kale salad or vegetable smoothie to a simple snack, you can prepare with kale.
A very popular vegetable these days that favors a healthy diet, whether it is consumed fresh or cooked. The density of nutrients is very high, but it is a low-energy food, which implies only benefits to those who incorporate it into their diet.
If you have not tried kale salad, the time has come, you will not be able to resist this temptation, so read on to find out what is currently happening in the best kitchens in the world. The kale salad will help you feel healthy while enjoying a good quick and easy recipe.
This vegetable is easy to grow at home, it tolerates all types of soils, grows better in cold climates, kale shoots have a vegetative cycle that lasts from 15 to 25 days, the part that is harvested is its leaves that must be collected before they develop their flower stem.
Its leaves cover the whole of the vegetable, it draws attention for its intense color and its rough texture and its delicious flavor makes it one of the favorites to prevent overweight.
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Kale has a particular flavor and if you combine it with other foods you will taste it to the fullest.
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What is kale salad?
A simple raw salad, to be made in a few minutes and with a great variety of nutrients, without forgetting of course the kale.
The main recipe for a kale salad does not require other ingredients, it is prepared mainly with some variety of kale, preferably kale, and is complemented with dressing, however, it is better to accompany it with other ingredients that highlight its flavor. contrast or also add some color to this green salad.
In summer it is the preferred food to keep cool. A raw kale salad can be the solution for a quick meal that can keep you full and with the necessary nutrients to stay active during the day.
For some people it is a new food and they have doubts about how it can be cooked, not including it in their diet, since it is very easy to eat it raw to take advantage of its properties as well as steam, boil and sauté them , as well as combine them, mix them with others. nutritious and colorful food giving an appetizing visual image.
Benefits of kale salad
Kale is a plant that offers you many antioxidants that purify your body. The antioxidant function comes from vitamin C and beta-carotene.
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Its antioxidant function helps prevent cancer, prevents premature aging and protects you from heart disease. There are many benefits that a cup of kale can offer you for your health and they will be many more if you combine them with other ingredients that complement it in the nutrient table.
The kale will help you lose weight! All those foods that contain low calorie content, which is equal to a low energy intake, will be contributing to weight loss.
It is considered that kale is miraculous is a fashionable food, that you can drink it, eat it, for dessert or use it as a condiment.
Being a food rich in vitamin K and omega 3, it can help reduce inflammation, a risk factor for diseases.
Due to the chlorophyll content it contributes to better digestion, removing that feeling of inflammation.
Consuming kale salad helps us protect the skin and in turn recovering it because it contains a large amount of vitamins, nutrients, enzymes and protective elements that make skin look youthful by reducing expression lines, wrinkles and dark circles in the eyes.
In addition to its rich content in vitamins, it is also rich in omega 3, benefiting the hair, when it tends to break easily, you will notice a change in the elasticity of your hair, strengthening the roots of the hair, improving blood circulation in the scalp and growth. hair related.
It is a good alternative for people who are dairy intolerant, as it is a plant-based source of iron, it can prevent anemia.
It raises good cholesterol and reduces bad cholesterol, excellent for athletes since its high mineral content helps to replenish fluids and vitality after training.
Properties of kale salad
There are so many nutrients that this plant has that we can only mention some of them. Kale is rich in calcium, iron, and fibers, which together improve the immune system and regulate blood glucose levels.
The vitamin C it contains works as an antioxidant, eliminating free radicals that remain in our body, thus helping to delay old age, detoxify the body and increase defenses to resist diseases.
One of the key nutrients for cell function and blood circulation is vitamin K. Kale is the best source of this vitamin, a serving provides us with all the daily amount we need.
All the nutrients that you consume in various foods, you get them from kale. This leafy vegetable contains many important nutrients more concentrated than any other, that is why it is considered a superfood, which you also cannot stop including in your diet.
It is a source of folic acid. If you are of childbearing age, kale optimizes the development of your baby’s brain in utero, helps reduce tiredness and fatigue.
Kale is rich in vitamin A to take care of and maintain sight, preventing ocular degeneration thanks to lutein, being able to prepare a great smoothie by mixing it with your favorite fruit to accompany the salad.
It reduces lung congestion, as well as strengthens the immune system.
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The kale is magnificent not only for our beauty, it is also a preventive food due to its composition of flavonoids, being beneficial as an antiviral and depressant.
How to prepare kale salad correctly?
If you are a lover of raw salads, this is one of the best. The kale salad is one of those that you can take for a healthy snack and in which you can get more creative when choosing the ingredients.
Anchovies, cheese, salmon, apples, avocados, tuna, chicken, mango, cucumbers … add any ingredient that comes to mind, you can use them to combine the kale in the best way. Let’s see how to make kale salad at home.
To prepare the kale salad, follow these steps:
1.- First wash and cut the cabbage leaves, it is important to massage them to soften them. From the bunch of leaves we separate the leaves from the main stem, although the stem could be used in recipes, for a salad it will be better to use only the leaves. You can save the stems and use them later to prepare a kale soup, cream or smoothie.
When washing them, use a small amount of water and make sure that there are no excess water stored next to the kale, it is necessary to avoid organic remains, insects, soil or other pathogenic microorganisms with bacteria by adding drops of vinegar to the water. You can choose to dry them with an absorbent paper and remove the excess water. Keep the excess in a glass container with a kitchen paper at the base to absorb moisture.
2.- Cut the kale into pieces, the size that can be eaten in one bite.
3.- Prepare the rest of the ingredients as the case may be, peel, cut, wash and chop each of the additional ingredients.
4.- Prepare the dressing. A simple dressing can be made by mixing olive oil, lemon, pepper and mustard. This dressing will be placed on top of the kale, with enough time to guarantee that the flavor penetrates its leaves and they remain soft, being able to add a pinch of rosemary and a spoonful of honey.
5.- The kale leaves are very coarse or rough, what you need to keep them a little tender is to massage them for a few minutes after you put the dressing on it. This trick works wonders for me to soften kale leaves.
6.- You will now be ready to serve a rich and nutritious kale salad with the olive oil dressing. Finally, you can place a little Parmesan cheese as a garnish on top of the salad.
An effective way to improve the flavor and texture of kale leaves is to soak them for a few minutes in the dressing. This is a trick that does not fail, you must have a few extra minutes to prepare the salad, so you cannot do it if you plan to make a quick recipe.
As preparing kale in a minute is very easy, it is often blanched before consumption to soften its texture, you would have to place the pot with water and then it would be soaked, so an excellent option is to use the microwave by placing the clean and chopped cabbage A special container in 50, 0 60 seconds will be ready tender green and bright and without water we season it with salt, water, oil or with your chosen dressing.
Choose the correct kale
Not all types of kale will be perfect to be used in your salad. One way to choose them is by looking at the intensity of the green color, the more intense it is, the better its quality. Kale has the peculiarity of staying fresh for a long time, longer than other vegetables, so it would be easy to take an old kale home if you do not notice its color.
If you see something yellow, do not choose that kale, it does not matter what type of kale you choose, although I recommend curly kale for salads. Other types of kale, such as purple or baby, are better for preparing healthy chips and snacks.
You have to choose the youngest leaves, and an excellent tip is to cut it into julienne strips if you prefer it softer, leaving the larger ones to sauté.
The kale is refrigerated in plastic bags to keep its nutrients intact, its leaves remain fresh and only those that are going to be used immediately are washed.
Use the right seasonings
The seasonings to use depend on your tastes. A natural kale salad can be accompanied by a few sprigs of chopped coriander and a little salt. Other more daring people have tried adding oregano or basil, these spices give it an extra, very intense flavor that could change the way you look at a natural kale salad.
You can also change the salt for pepper or even use both if you prefer. Kale salad is so simple that you can add almost any ingredient you prefer.
There is an incredible dressing that you are going to want to make many times it is very easy to make just by mixing vinegar, honey or brown sugar, soy sauce, red onion, just mix it all together and you can keep it for up to a week.
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Combine it to your liking
So many ideas to make your original kale salad should get you thinking a bit. To facilitate the process, I will make some suggestions to combine your kale salad with other ingredients in the best way.
Let’s start with the cherry tomato, cut in half, this ingredient will give a sweet flavor to your salad, in addition to making it attractive with the contrast of red color with the intense green of your kale. In the same way, you can change the tomato for avocados or apples.
As a garnish to place before serving I give you two options, sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top, giving a salty touch to your salad or maybe you prefer something more gourmet like sesame seeds, it will make your salad look elegant.
For those who want to add more energy to the salad, either because they use it in a caloric diet useful for athletes, you can add nuts. Two cups of almonds in the salad bowl will be enough to give you more nutrients. Passing them through the oven before, you will have better flavor. You decide how to use them and how you will like them more.
What a delight when it is mixed with apple, avocado, onion, coriander, it is added dressing with vinegar, oregano, garlic, olive oil, it is very easy to make.
As for the dressing, generally only extra virgin olive oil is used, but to your liking you can add lemon, mustard or make a vinaigrette.
The secret of a delicious salad is in the dressing, when they have citrus fruits as an orange, tangerine, lemon or grapefruit base, vinegar is added to adjust the acidity and a little olive oil, leaving it to marinate for two weeks and it is a delicacy.
Does kale salad make you fat or thin?
Hardly such a nutritious and natural food will make you fat. Its broad benefits are based on keeping you healthy, and in that case, they would help you lose weight. how? The kale regulates the functioning of the stomach, gives you the feeling of fullness that prevents excessive eating and provides you with the necessary nutrients to stay healthy.
So the answer is no, kale salad is not fattening, although it is not specifically used for weight loss, if it could help you achieve that type of goal.
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Kale salad is the one that is being used the most in the diet to lose weight, because it is an excellent cleanser for the liver and low in calories.
It is very common to replace ordinary bread with whole wheat bread, being a great alternative to substitute lettuce for kale, other vegetables are added and it will be perfect to give it fewer calories and more properties.
How many calories does kale salad have?
Salads are mixed with different ingredients, in which each one makes its nutritional contribution. It’s very difficult to estimate the calories in kale salad when you don’t get information on the other ingredients.
If only the kale contribution is estimated, it would be about 33kcal for a 100gr serving of the vegetable. Fat 11%, carbohydrates 67% protein 22%
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Side effects of kale salad
The side effects of consuming kale salad are almost nil, only in those people who are not in good health or with some predisposition can be affected.
When suffering from irritable bowel, the consumption of kale salad is not recommended. It may cause diarrhea and digestive system distortions.
If you are taking medication, a side effect of kale salad could be the inactivity of the medicine or sometimes it may cause the opposite effect. Such is the case of people who take anticoagulants, that consuming kale could inhibit the proper functioning of the medicines.
In a healthy person, kale salad will only cause satisfaction when you enjoy it while you eat it. A natural and healthy food does not threaten health at any time. Perhaps if it is consumed in excess or does not eat a healthy diet it can cause some direct damage to the health of the person.
When consuming a lot of kale through juices it is possible to have side effects such as an upset stomach, diarrhea gas and some types of stomach cramps.
Special care must be taken if you are on a detox diet, because you are consuming very low calories and could lead to muscle or blood sugar problems.
Because it is a nutritious food, it is often consumed in quantity without realizing that it could interfere with the synthesis of thyroid hormone, which would have a slow functioning producing hyperthyroidism of course, if it is consumed in exaggerated quantities, the body needs iodine and if we have a deficient diet of this mineral the levels go down the thyroid gland lengthens and can cause goiter.
When the person suffers from high amounts of potassium in the blood, it is recommended to consume little kale or combine it with other foods in order to minimize the risk.
It is important to consult a specialist about the amount to be consumed daily in order to avoid complications in the body.
Nutritional value of kale salad
Each serving of kale salad contains several nutrients, without considering the extra ingredients that are added to improve the flavor, texture and color of the salad. Among the most important nutrients that are contained in kale we have:
High iron content that prevents anemia and diseases related to blood circulation. Its high density of iron in kale leaves is equal to the nutrients that we can obtain from red meat.
It contains vitamin C that controls free radicals from oxidation in our body. The direct benefit of this antioxidant property is the ability to stop premature aging or cellular aging.
It helps the relaxation of muscles, improves sleep, reduces the effects of premenstrual syndrome, magnesium reduces insulin and with it the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and improving type 1 diabetes.
Vitamin K helps cell function, contributes to the absorption of calcium in the bones and prevents neuronal damage.
You can read more about the subject in Vitamin K: Contraindications, Benefits, Deficiency symptoms as well as adequate dosage
Fibers have different functions, they help eliminate constipation from your life, regulating the functioning of the digestive system, but it also helps eliminate toxins and even keeps you in a state of satiety for a longer time.
All these nutrients complement any meal, hence the importance of incorporating it into our daily diet. A kale salad has many more benefits than we really realize.
Get creative and design your own fresh kale salad for a family meal or have a quick and nutritious meal without much hassle.
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Kathie Sand always saw the world of beauty as the terrain on which to build her professional career, a goal that was clear to her when she was only 15 years old. Her great concern to expand knowledge led her to settle in Paris where she studied hand in hand with the best beauty professionals and with the most advanced techniques for skin care.